Grandpa Knows Best
by 27dayz
Summary: When little Rose Weasley demands that her father take Baby Hugo back to the 'hopsicle', Arthur steps in to help Ron reason with the stubborn little girl.


**Grandpa Knows Best**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related.

"Rosie!" Ron cheered, scooping up his two-year-old daughter and giving her a big kiss on the cheek, "Did you have a good time with your cousins?" he asked. It was then that he noticed that his darling daughter was unusually still and had a scowl on her small face to rival her mother's.

"Rosie?" he questioned, "What's wrong, Honey?" he crooned. She clamped her mouth shut and crossed her arms tightly over her little chest. He tried to get her to talk to him, but she didn't budge. Finally, he did the only thing that he could think of.

"Mum!" he called, carrying the little girl into the kitchen of the Burrow, "Mum?"

"She's not here, Son. Had to go grocery shopping," Arthur Weasley said, smirking humorously at his son.

"What?" Ron yelped, looking down at little Rose, who still was glaring at her father.

"What's the trouble, Ron?" Arthur asked, still smirking as though he knew something his son didn't.

"Er, Dad, I dunno…" Ron sighed, thinking that when it came to child-care, his mother was the better choice.

"Try me," Arthur said, holding out his arms, gesturing for his granddaughter. Ron felt a little hurt as his little girl immediately went to her grandfather.

"Ah, Rosie, I take it you're a little mad at Daddy, hmm?" Arthur asked. To Ron's amazement, Rose nodded.

"Why?" Ron asked, wide-eyed. Rose looked at her grandfather, who was still smiling.

"Rosie, why are you mad at Daddy?" Arthur questioned. She glared at her father before answering. Merlin, Ron thought, she's worse than her mother and she's only two.

"Daddy never pways with me anymore!" she pouted, "An' he and Mommy leave me an' he won't take stupid Hugo back to the hopsicle!" Rose cried.

"What?" Ron yelped, gaping at his daughter, "Rosie, honey, Hugo's your little brother and Mommy and Daddy are sorry that we haven't had much time for you because Hugo needs us, but we can't take him back-"

"James says you can take babies back to the hopsicle, so take Hugo back!" Rose demanded.

"James said what now?" Ron asked, glancing into the living room where James and the other toddlers were sitting in their pen.

"James said that Uncle Hawry and Aunty Ginny took Lily back to the hospsicle, so you take Hugo back! I don't want him!" she said again.

"Rose, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny took Lily to the hospital because she had a cold, not because they didn't want her," Ron tried to explain. Rose glared at him again.

"Son, you're never going to get anywhere that way," Arthur commented, still grinning as he turned to the stubborn little girl, "Rose, sweetie, we can't take Hugo back to the hospital."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, for starters, the hospital won't take him back because the people there don't know how to take care of him," Arthur explained, ensuring that he had her attention, "And, your mummy and daddy love him."

"Why? He smells funny and cries a lot and poops a lot," Rose said, wrinkling her face. If Ron hadn't been so anguished over the fact that his daughter wanted to get rid of her baby brother, he would have laughed at her comment.

"Well, babies do that," Arthur reasoned, "You see, they have to cry so their parents feed them and change their nappies. And they poop a lot because they need to eat a lot to grow big like you, Rosie."

"I'm big," she repeated.

"That's right," Arthur said smiling, "And right now, Hugo is very small. He can't do much for himself, so he needs your mummy and daddy to do things for him. It might seem that they don't have a lot of time to play with you, but that'll change once Hugo gets a little older. Then you can play with him and help him be big like you."

"But I want Mommy and Daddy to play with me!" Rose said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Aww, Rosie, I'm sorry," Ron apologized, "And Daddy will play with you and try to spend more time with you. I love you, Honey," he said, holding his arms out for his daughter. She crawled into his arms and nestled into his chest.

"I love you too, Daddy," she said.

"That's more like it," Arthur observed, smiling. Ron looked over at his father curiously.

"How'd you know, Dad?" he asked.

"That she was mad at you because of her brother? Please. You're talking to a man who's dealt with more sibling rivalry issues than he has hair…come to think of it, that's probably why I've lost all mine…that and she told me when you dropped her off," Arthur shrugged.

"Thanks, Dad," Ron said smiling, as he moved towards the fireplace. Maybe Arthur did have some valuable childcare advice after all.

"No problem. This was minor. When Fred and George decided that they were sick of you, they set off Bill's dung bombs in your crib. You're mum went mental…and that's why we had to buy a new crib when Ginny came along," Arthur explained merrily.

"Er…why am I not surprised?" Ron asked, grabbing Rose's pink backpack.

"Actually, when you were convinced your mother loved Ginny more than you, you ran outside stark naked and said you were going to live with the garden gnomes," Arthur continued.

"Thanks, Dad," Ron repeated, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder and disappearing.

Later that day, Ron flooed back to his parent's house, dressed in a frilly pink dress, holding a tiny teacup.

"Goodness, Ronald, what are you wearing?" his mother questioned. Ron turned to his father, who grinned at his son's look of desperation.

"Dad, I need your help," he said.

**The End**


End file.
